figuring out how many calories I to burn a week

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Emmie090281
Emmie090281 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone! I am new to MFP I need to lose about 80 lbs I am buying a heart monitor (polar ft4) this weekend but I need help figuring out how many calories do I need to burn a day/week I started walking/jogging 2 to 4 miles a day 6 days a week my MFP account is saying I need to eat 1610 cal a day I'm 5ft 3 1/2 , 210lbs and I am 32 years old so my question is how do I figure out many calories do I burn a day/week to lose 2lbs a week Thanks a bunch Emma

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  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    MPF is saying if you do no exercise you can lose your goal amount by eating 1610ish/day. You don't HAVE TO burn any through exercise, though it'll speed things up and it's good for you. But it's up to you. If you did the MFP thing right, anything you do burn at exercise you can estimate those calories and eat them in addition to your 1610. Does that make sense?
  • Emmie090281
    Emmie090281 Posts: 4
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    Yea, I think so basically I'm going to lose weight on 1610 calories (2lbs a week is what I put ) so if I exercise and eat the burned calories back that's just extra weight to come off a week right?
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    With only 80 lbs. to lose, 2 lbs. per week might be too aggressive. Set your goal to 1.5 lb. Your calorie goal is net calories (not including exercise), and it has your deficit built in. The calorie counts & burns are just estimates. Some people reduce the margin of error by eating back half their exercise calories. Everybody's different, and it will take trial & error to find what works for you.

    You lose weight by eating at a deficit. Log everything you eat accurately & honestly. Find reliable database entries. (There's a lot of incorrect data in there.) Weigh your food. Log your exercise, and eat back your exercise calories. If you're not losing, eat back half your exercise calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Yea, I think so basically I'm going to lose weight on 1610 calories (2lbs a week is what I put ) so if I exercise and eat the burned calories back that's just extra weight to come off a week right?
    The theory is if you exercise and eat back, you'll still lose around 2lbs a week. If you exercise and don't eat back, you'll lose more.

    I don't think 2lbs/week is too aggressive with 80lbs to lose.
  • Emmie090281
    Emmie090281 Posts: 4
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    Thank you! Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend :)
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
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    I recommend trying the goal you have now. If you're having trouble losing weight, maybe change your activity level. I struggled with setting the right activity level at first, especially because my schedule varies so much each day. Perhaps an activity tracker would be a better investment than an HRM right now so you can find out your actual TDEE and create a deficit from that?

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